Four Sides

Aka Bizz's awesome forum fanfiction of awesomeness.

If you haven't signed up for this story, you can sign up if you are a reader. I want readers and feedback, damn it

Bizz enjoys comments if you have them! :D If I have anything wrong or off or if the whole thing's completely awesome or completely made of fail, tell me!

~CHAPTERS ONE TO NINE, CHAPTER TEN WILL BE COMING IN AN HOUR OR TOMORROW

-------------------


Chapter One: The Beginning of Autumn

"It's just something I remember in the deep parts of the wind. My thoughts scatter like the dandelion seeds themselves; I cannot recall in the haze of the frigid fields of the mind itself, but what I can tell is something of a different caliber... will you listen? I'm sure you will. Your heart is set on so many things, and this is exactly why I speak to you now..."

-----

She was walking, except she was not. She could've sworn she was; she had tripped over about ten minutes ago, so it might've been only a dream. She heard voices. Thought she was going delirious. She tried picking herself back up again, but couldn't tell if she was doing so. Hearing someone ask if she was feeling distraught, she shook her head. At least, she hoped she did. She hadn't regained her right mind until either an hour or five minutes later.

".. Hm? Bizz? You there?"

"I.. think so. Am I?"

"Well, I believe you are, considering you're speaking to me, hm?"

"I guess." Bizz dusted off the much clothing she wore, and she glanced to the side. Her vision fixed itself right on the girl next to her, one she called friend, who glanced back with that quiet, reserved sort of smile. Her hair was jade-colored; Bizz liked that, and also the fact that she was a fellow swordmaster. Swordmasters, after all, shared the same defense problems.

"Well, that settles that, then." Opal stood up. "You've been having these fits for a while now, haven't you?"

"Only around this time of year..." Which is what Bizz realized when she looked up: the maple leaves were colored brightly of yellow and red and a few orange here and there. Autumn was always so-so in her book- not counting the spells she had, which were actually allergic reactions of some kind. She looked at it that way, anyway. Allergic to a season... it may have been possible, right? Bizz sighed and lifted herself off the ground. At least the trees were rather pretty; and she knew that for a fact. "... Hay, how long was I out, anyway?" She asked.

"I.. think about twenty minutes?" Opal replied with a small shrug.

"Ah. Good thing. I thought it was longer." Opal laughed softly; her young friend had seemed to amuse her since so long ago. Bizz looked to the sky one more time, then turned her head east. The wind was blowing the opposite direction; seemingly a zephyr following its dream of evolving into a gale. "We should head back to town, eh? The winds are anxious, which might spell ill weather soon."

"But of course. That important letter won't deliver itself, hm?"

"Nm."

----

Serold was a town of fairly stable economy, and known for its students of acedemic brightness. It was one of those quaint little places to live that was traveled through rather frequently, and had also been close to the main capital of Eroya, which was a bonus.

The nobles of said continental capital visited sometimes, causing excitement throughout the whole vicinity of the place; citizens everywhere would come to wave or watch the royal family go by...

... Which had been happening now, in actuality. And thus the commotion was relevant, and everyone gathered around...

----

"Sooongbiird! Song, come on! We're going to miss it!" Shouted a sage shaking his little sister awake, "The royal family's going by again!"

"Uhh.. uh?" came a groggy answer as the younger girl was finally rising out of bed. "They're... coming?" She started straightening her slightly unkempt hair with her right hand, organizing the long, brown locks.

"Yes!" The older brother replied, "Hurry up, Sister!"

"Uhh.. uh! Right!" Songbird rummaged for something under her cot and slowly pulled out a long, green bandana. She promptly tied it into her hair, and the two rushed through the house in the quickest of times ever recorded in the history of a long time. "Hey, do you think Cymbeline and Desdemona will be there?"

"Most likely!"

----

Bizz groaned a sort of breathy groan, and hadn't known why she done it. Opal nudged her slightly. "You okay?"

"Yeah," She breathed. "I guess the nobles just make me feel weird."

Opal chuckled slightly. "Why? You don't like them?"

"No, it isn't that..." The sixteen-year-old girl peered through the massive crowd of people- it was a very narrow view- for anyone she knew. It was a strange thing to do, and Bizz hadn't known many others for that matter, either, but people made her uneasy. She needed some familiar faces. "... See anyone we know? Like, friends, maybe?"

"Not that I see." Opal started scanning the area herself, her eyes moving like the eyes of a young prodigy perusing the pages of a book in their spare time. "There is bound to be someone here, isn't there?"

"If we can find our way through this mess, then yes."

"Mm."

There were loud cries of "Look!" and "Over there!" coming from the citizens all around as the carriage pulled by horses in ornamental decor came into the view of the landscape as the people frantically waved and shouted and yelled. Bizz squinted her eyes. There was something familiar about one of the royals. It was her Sense, she presumed: He was a swordmaster, too. In fact, he had been much more skilled than that, as her Sense told her- a full blown trueblade. She'd always aspired to that kind of rank.

Squinting them further to the point they were almost shut- her vision hadn't been too acute- she saw three other nobles. One of them was a girl, from what her limited vision could portray. "... Hm," she muttered silently. She felt a breeze in her ear, and was poked in the shoulder again. "Yes, Opal?" she replied absentmindedly, her attention span still wavering towards what she thought had been--

"We still have that delivery, remember?" Her friend said, waving a hand in front of the girl's face. "I thought you said you wouldn't be distracted as we were coming here."

"Oh, hush it." Opal giggled.

----

"Uh, um, delivery!" Bizz had called uncertainly as the two friends arrived in the small inn. Visitors resting at the lobby shifted eyes towards the two, there were a couple of looks, and one person waved silently. Opal waved back. The innkeeper herself looked at them, then gestered them forward.

"Is it the message from the capital?" The woman asked.

Bizz and Opal both nodded.

"Hah, all right. I'll make sure it gets to the Head of Serold immediately."

"Thank you, ma'am," The brunette swordmaster replied, and with smiles and waves, the duo exited the building almost instantly. Bizz complained slightly about someone giving her an odd stare, but it hadn't been the full reason she forced them to hurry out. Leaves were falling gracefully about the excited city as Bizz looked up to the clouds again.

What was the message, she wondered?

-//-

Chapter Two: Seeds in the Wind

On a hard, possibly oak desk, sat a pottery-made coffee cup. Steam arose from it in patterns, various shapes emerging into the air, in pale puffs. A sigh came from above, fingers rapidy tapping the wooden desk, causing the cup to rattle slightly. A man in about his twenties shot a thirsty look at his scolding hot java, soon rising the cup up to his lips, sipping small, delicate sips. The room was small and peaceful- which was what the rested man has preferred at this particular time of day- but very slight boredom had settled in after a while, a young and hardly noticeable mold on the surface. There was a jacket hanging on an also-possibly oak hanger in the corner, a gift he received a time ago.

His ears heard many things in his moment of tranquility. For one, he heard the footsteps approaching closer to his door, the frantic whispers and mutterings of a mistress to herself. He chucked slightly. "Come in," he called out loud, which he surmised startled the woman behind his door, as his accurate hearing caught the faint sound of a gasp.

"Er, Head Javaman, sir, um, you have a letter.." The delivery girl stammered slightly. She had a rather smooth, high-pitched voice, and her hair was a very pale blue, as was her eyes. Javaman raised a brow.

"Why so nervous this fine day, hm?"

"Did you, um, hear, sir?" The mistress' flustered look puzzled the man sitting at the desk to such a degree that he cocked his head slightly to the side in curiosity as he was handed the thin, folded parcel. It looked pretty genuine. Yes, it even had that authentic smell...

"... Sir?"

"... Hm?"

"Did you... listen to what I said?" The woman's expression had been slightly baffled.

"Why, yes. Something important?"

"It's.. in the parcel, sir. I must be going now..." And with that, she hastily scurried up to the door, shutting it behind her in a tender fashion. She must've been new, Javaman thought. I don't believe I've seen her around these parts before.

He stared at the folded paper of utter importance that had now been resting on his perhaps oak desk, to the left of his cup of java. He had another sip, and picked the letter up, opening it carefully and slowly. He noticed the faint fingerprints and dirt marks on it as the wrinkled sheet was slowly unfolded open, and the text was read...

----

"Cymbeline! Desdemona!" Masu called, waving a hand cheerfully at his two approaching friends. Songbird did the same, along with a few hops up and down. The crowd of citizens had been settling down and returning to their homes at this point, but jovial jabber and chatter and blathering was still thrown in all kinds of different directions. Shop stands were still teeming with lengthy lines of a vast variety of customers from all around all over the vicinity of the moderate-sized town.

"Hey!" The duo of twin sisters greeted in unison. "Did you see the family going by?" Desdemona had asked.

"Yeah!" Songbird replied with a joyful nod, "I just love it when they come to see us!"

"How's everything been faring for you guys?" Cymbeline wondered.

"Oh, just fine," Masu had replied, and Songbird nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! Thalassa's doing just fine, too!" She had replied in her constantly energetic tone. Being a pegasus knight, Thalassa was, obviously, Songbird's pegasus. She had a special stable she had stayed in at her home, and the sixteen-year-old would always be going out into the plains to ride her. Song rarely revealed her out in public, however, for various- and mostly understandable- reasons.

"So, did you see anyone else today?" Desdemona asked. Masu shook his head.

"No," he responded with a sigh. "I haven't seen many of the others today..."

"Maybe they're busy?"

"Maybe.."

"Hey!" Songbird chimed in, "Since we're all here, how's about some dinner tonight?"

And, to shorten things up, the four hungry individuals all did agree to dinner that night.

----

The rather frustrated, purple-clad trueblade was.. well, rather frustrated. He paced up and down one of the side halls of Casta palace rapidly in successed continuation. The attack on the capital of Eroya did devastating damage. The palace was relatively unharmed, but the common townsfolk of the city's proximity were harmed terribly. It was unnerving. Unnerving and also made everyone uneasy; countless were dead or homeless or hopelessly confused. The latter was noticeably significant before, but now it was worse.

The dark dragon who did so was killed. They said he was, anyway. Nobody knew the true identity of the catastrophe-causing individual, he just sort of disappeared into the wind; like most things did these days when they were out of sight out of mind. But this incident wasn't out of mind, albeit the dragon was indeed better out of sight.

"Damn it!" The man had shouted, stomping one foot on the ground in what was now irate anger. It echoed, as what happened in most gargantuan palaces. He rested himself on the nearest wall, which was to his left side. The visit to Serold was nice, of course, but did it have to come to such a price? What was happening now, what was happening? Confusion and discord everywhere that came out of nowhere! Nowhere! He'd heard that somewhere before, thought he could hear something echoing back-

"Something bugging you?" came a voice a distance behind him. Lyle Dayek swerved around to see the fellow noble trueblade facing him. "You know, you've been so tense lately."

"Ah, Nightmare..." Lyle muttered breathily in exhaustion. Something pinged in realization just then: Nightmare never did reveal his true name. It was rather interesting. That, and he had been blind, yet it was as if he wasn't. He always knew exactly what took place around him. Maybe your remaining senses did improve when one specific one was taken away...

"Fim's been out wyvern riding," Nightmare said, "she's come back to say that the job was done not even halfway. Most of the city's still intact."

"But, people are still..." Lyle began, but faltered. A younger girl had walked in shortly after, about thirteen years of age. She was smaller as was visible, and her hair was a bright tint of light blue. Her cloak she wore was blue. Her full name being Fimbulvetr after the famous blizzard tome, she was indeed a very ardent fan of blue. Fire, too, but that didn't suit the 'blizzard' theme all too affectively. Among the few sages that rode wyverns like Fim had, pyromania had been fairly common.

Her dark brown eyes scanned the hallway briefly before she chirped, "Hay, guys! I just got back from scouting!"

"I told Lyle about it," Nightmare replied. Fim nodded slightly.

"Yeah, it wasn't as bad as I thought," said Fim, "but, who do you think did this?"

"That's, rather, the task at hand," Nightmare explained, "as in, finding that out. They say whatever did this was, rather, someone coaxed into attacking us. Someone used for grisly intentions, though the one used, exactly, didn't have the intentions themselves. Probably why they hesitated... I hope this doesn't continue." Nightmare paused, as if pondering something as if he knew something, as if something sounded familiar to him in what he spoke before. Then, he asked to either no one or the entire world overall, "Anyone know where Chris went?"

"He went out, I guess," Fim eventually responded after an odd moment of silence.

"Ah, I see... Lyle? You there?"

"Eh," Lyle sighed. He nervously ran a hand through his brown hair, and rushed back down the echoing palace hall, leaving Fim and Nightmare to estimate what caused Lyle's troubled feeling. Either that, or maybe to search about for the fourth noble.

-//-

Chapter Three- Autumn's Artistic Qualities

Bizz looked across the forest; dark was approaching, but she seemed oblivious to it. Opal had her head tilted slightly in curiosity and befuddlement. "Excuse me, but what exactly are we looking for?" She asked for what seemed to be the tenth time that day when in reality it was the third.

"We're going to the capital," Bizz snapped immediately, "There's something going on. I can smell it."

"Smell? ... Maybe it was just your Sense," Opal teased, "I mean, you did see there were two trueblade nobles, correct?"

"Oh, shush. It's not that. I swear on everything."

"Mm, all right. I'll trust your judgment on this one..."

Bizz continued forward with Opal following carefully behind. The forest that was the separation line between Serold and Casta twisted and gnarled every which direction, green and mushrooms galore. Bizz was rather fond of the design of the mushrooms. Years back in the libraries of Casta, she would study them, day and night... she rather lacked in her sleep schedule after such escapades, but it utterly elated her nonetheless. Bizz span around another large tree, the diameter of the trunks getting slightly larger as they progressed. That had always been a mystery in itself along with the origin of previously mentioned mushrooms...

The sky gradually melted from a slight pink to a bright orange that then started to fade mellowly into the blue. Etches of the changing sky reminded Bizz slightly of a blooming flower, and both sequences played forward in her head, back and forth, to and fro. The young girl adjusted the parting of her hair and glanced at Opal briefly. "We're almost there," she told her friend, which was responded to with a subtle nod.

"You know, I'm surprised you haven't complained of hunger yet," said Opal a few moments after Bizz tripped over a tree root, "It's approaching dusk, after all."

"Well, maybe I'm just hiding the fact that I'm so famished, I could eat one of these full-grown trees. No joke."

"Wouldn't that be full of splinters?"

Bizz ignored the comment and pointed forwards into the approaching dark. Faint but clearly visible lighting was sighted in the far distance. "We're almost there."

----

Lyle stared blankly across the large room for a long time, then lie down in his bed. Something didn't feel right. He fervently believed so; a voice at the back of his head, his conscious, whatever it was, told him of an upcoming event. It was big. Gargantuan, to the point where it made a proud and tall redwood tree look like a mere sapling. Trees seemed to be a center of thought lately. Maybe it was just the theme of the third season of the whole year. Hadn't mattered much in a time of turmoil. His ceiling mosaic resembled this mosaic of mixed and suspicious emotions of everyone and everything all abound.

The royal trueblade heaved a sigh. He couldn't take the suspense- why couldn't it just happen already?! And then he didn't want it to happen, all at the same time. He didn't even know what he was waiting for, this larger-than-redwoodtree event or somewhat.

In both reality and actuality, he wondered how Bianchi was doing. The great valkyrie went off to travel about the lands some time ago, and he hadn't heard from her since. Was she safe? Has she been caught up in any of this? What is going on?

"Hey, Lyle?" came a voice from the other side of the wide doors. It was Nightmare.

"Yeah?" Lyle answered.

"We've two visitors from the neighboring town of Serold. Old friends, in fact."

"Eh?" Lyle arose from his prince's bed, and asked, "At this hour? ... Did you ever find Chris?

"Just meet us in the main chamber," Nightmare responded in an apparent rush. Lyle's ears pricked up to his rhythmic footsteps tip-tap echoing in the hallway behind the doors. Well-placed, he thought a few moments before he eventually made his way to his assigned destination.

----

"It's getting late," Masu noticed after the long dinner at a more expensive inn, "I think we should be retiring for the night." Songbird sighed a both disappointed and exhausted sigh.

"I'm sad to say it, but it's true," Songbird replied rather dismally. "We'll meet up tomorrow, though, right? Maybe look for the others?"

"Sounds like a plan!" said Masu jovially. The twin sisters Cymbeline and Desdemona both nodded in agreement.

"Right. We'll see you guys later!" Des said with a wave, and the two pairs of siblings parted. Masu and Songbird watched as their duo of friends slowly vanished into the darkening night. Masu looked up and sighed.

"Come on, Song. We should hurry up before it gets too dark."

"All right! I'm coming!" Song hurriedly followed her brother back into the quieter part of the town, to where their own little cottage was. Many of the other citizens were 'hitting the hay' for the night, so to speak, but many others were still doing late night shopping and general prowling around, and no one could forget the nocturnal tavern-goers. Trees aligned some buildings for show and effect; the people of Serold loved the joy trees and other such foliage brought, thus much of the city was engulfed in green. Autumn of course transformed the green into the showy red and yellow and orange and brown such much known for aforementioned season.

Masu and Songbird were about halfway home when a figure thoroughly silhouetted in the darkness emerged from behind a maple tree. The older brother stepped in front of his younger sister as to shield her from possible danger, and asked sternly, "Who are you?"

The shadow stepped ever forward to reveal in itself a female figure.

-//-

Chapter Four- A Sinister Wind

There was a frail-looking girl in the midst of young winds, a cleric of seventeen years. Her silver hair fluttered delicately in the wind, her blind eyes staring blankly into the depths of nonexistance, or as it was possibly so. A slightly shorter rouge, younger by two years, stood by the older girl in an array of dark clothing, his hair dark, all darkness as was his inner mind. They stood atop the slightly blustering hill, their orders short and simple, their plans and tactics for executing such orders successfully being more complex. The rouge looked up at the cleric; the cleric keept her empty gaze forward. The night was spreading a blanket of shadow across the entire land. Sleep and silence ruled this time of particular mystery and uncertainty as the light of confirmation was shrouded in the darkness of confusion, despair, and even questionable intentions in the hearts of some...

Another girl approached. Younger than the duo already standing awake, she was; probably around twelve, or so it looked, with innocent eyes as green as the green that autumn stole away, and long, light brown hair that spread over her shoulders like a protective veil, ending halfway down her back. She could not speak, not since five years ago, for undisclosed reasons never known. She was an enigma, an enigmatic figure; none knew much more than an inkling of her past, the only thing being an obvious fact was her loyalty to the older teenage cleric that stood a few feet away. The young one inched closer. Sighing softly, she tugged at the cleric's shirt tenderly and shivered some. She felt a sort of qualm about future actions they would take or maybe was just fearful for her own comrades; she was also horribly sensitive to the slight frigid tinge in the breezes of dusk. The rogue gave her somewhat of a scornful glance which caused her to step back once, but the cleric embraced her with a gentle loving warmth. "There, there," she whispered assuringly. "Is something wrong? You needn't feel afraid for any of us. We'll be just fine."

"Look, what is it with you and that... perplexing one? We've got things to do, places to go! Is she coming with us?" The rogue demanded, which caused the younger female to shrink back even more, and the slightly vexed cleric let out her own sigh this time.

"Listen, we must. I would fear so much for her safety if we left her here. I know potential dangers lie ahead as well, however the thought of abandoning her in this maelstrom of chaotic winds in all loneliness is something I cannot do."

"But it's just you always protecting her, it's so--"

"Shh. You said it yourself, we have a job to do. Shall we go, before it gets light?"

"Nyehh, I'm coming, I'm coming," the rogue grumbled.

With that, three delicate shadows leapt into the denisgrating night, the weather growing slightly uneased as clouds started to smother the gibbous moon...

----

"So, you two heard of the recent... events here?" Nightmare asked as Fim was coming around through the chamber entrance. The room was a great dining chamber, a large table in the middle of the wide space with a bouquet of columbines and a type of lily flower mixed in as the centerpiece. Candles were lit up all about and were the main sources of light. Flames flickered here and there, disorienting the shadows on the marble floor. Tiny moths took delight in the numerous candlelights and were thusly flittering about the bright sets of embers. Lyle was sitting next to Nightmare as Bizz was next to Opal, the two duos just across from each other. Chris was apparently scouting for more information, much like Fim had been doing before.

"Well, more like a feeling," Bizz replied as Opal was sitting silent and smiling. Both of them were offered cinnamon apples, which the chestnut-haired swordmaster accepted immediately and graciously while her friend had done so more reluctantly. If there was anything Bizz had fervently desired more than just plain food to satisfy her famishment, it was cinnamon and apple fused together- an irresistible combination. To her, it was pure delight. Her opinion of the nobles rose higher, just from that, the apples and cinnamon.

"A feeling, huh?" Lyle said in curiosity; Fim gasped hugely at this moment, and Lyle turned his head to the excited girl making her way into the room.

"Bizz!" She shouted exultantly, making a seat next to Nightmare, "I didn't know you were coming tonight! And Opal too!"

"Indeed, dear," Opal responded with a wink. Whereas Bizz was busy scarfing down apples; she looked up dumbfoundedly, swallowing most of her mouthful of the fruit.

"Hey, Fim, I haven't seen you in a few months. How've you been doing?" Her voice was slightly muffled from food, and the younger wvyern rider giggled.

"Oh, I've been all right. Can't say the same for the rest of us, though." Lyle seemed to cast a strange glance behind him at this point; Nightmare tapped him on the shoulder as if asking him a question, and he shrugged plainly. Bizz stopped eating and looked ahead, squinting her eyes, as if trying to spy something down the blinding blackness of the hallway.

"You guys hear something just now?" The formerly eating girl asked quietly. She got headshakes from everyone except for Lyle and Opal. "... It's getting louder..."

"Maybe we should go check it out?" Nightmare suggested, but only a few seconds before a panicky Chris ran in breathing heavily. Nightmare and Lyle got up immediately while Fim looked up in puzzlement, Bizz nearly choked on apple from surprise and Opal looked horribly confused.

"What's going--" Nightmare began, but was cut off by a high-pitched screeching sound and a hostile gust blew into the room, putting almost half of the candles out in an instant. The moths were manipulated in the air like puppets on strings. Bizz caught one and observed it closely- it was stunned.

"It... I... I need to show you something!" Chris panted. "Now!"

----

"So... you say your name is Freohr?" Masu repeated for confirmation as he lowered his kendama cautiously. The slightly startled light-brown haired myrmidon in front of him nodded, again.

"Y-Yes, my name is Freohr," she stammered nervously. "I'm... sorry for scaring you, I didn't mean to seem like a prowler..."

"No, we're sorry!" Songbird jumped in, side-stepping to reveal herself from her older brother's cover, "We didn't mean to, it's just easy to get scared on nights like this..."

"It sure is!" Freohr agreed vigorously, "I've been feeling something so strange since evening..."

"What exactly are you doing here, anyway?" Masu asked.

"Oh, um... I've come from the small village of Therma," she replied, "near to the Arbit River. I'm... traveling from home to see other sights, I guess you could say.

"Arbit... ?" Masu pondered for a minute, "Isn't that the river that got it's name from the sound the frogs make there, or something?"

"Indeed so! I now almost miss the harmonious melodies of such calls..." Freohr was about to mimic the sounds when a galing wind interrupted all that lie in it's path...

Shriiiiek, Songbird almost flew off of her feet but was caught by Masu. She responded to the protective action with a 'thanks!' and the perturbed trio looked to the direction of the blasting flurry as snow started to puff in random directions. It subsided, then would begin again, repeat, repeat; then into the north a deafening screech came to sound, this time with a different source than plain wind as citizens and tourists alike found their half-awake selves outside, wondering of the commotion...

-//-

Chapter Five: Unsettled Confusion

It's a hard story to tell after a certain point, I must advise you... albeit it's an important one. Look at you anxious, I'm sure you'd want to know. Don't worry, it's only but beginning...

Eroya was a strange country in the eyes of many. Normally, a person would leave home around age fifteen to pursue their dreams. This accounted for most of the young people living alone. The other kingdoms of Kishonan, Sirya, Niran and Kurai all followed different beliefs and customs; the one shared in all four plus most other small settlements and nations was the highly common religious belief that all mankind was created by Beings in the Stars. When praying or in ordinary speech, there was the popular expression "thank the Stars!" which obviously meant "thanks for your blessings". Other, separate continents had different beliefs rarely known between each other.

Eroya in actuality was the less passionate nation when it came to religion. This at times caused it's neighboring nations and settlements to look down upon them, but it was simply the way they lived. They never questioned it nor saw their allies as enemies just due to such trivial things as religious disputes...

There were rumors that were sure to spread on the events in the capital, however. Was it an attack over the kingdom's mind, or a different power altogether?

----

The wind sliced through the air fiercely as if in battle, its war cry the screech everlasting in the ears and mind, sure to drive those who heard it to near-insanity. Villagers started to have nightmares, most of them young children. Some awoke and cried. Others simply watched through small windows, terrified at the weather’s strange rampage. Was it a storm? Was it magic?

The head of Serold, Javaman, stood outside of the Town Building, a hand rubbing his chin. He wore his signature red outfit- his shirt being a brighter red than his pants- and his back hair was smoothed down. He had his sword by his side in preparation for anything hostile. He was ready for everything. He wasn't going to let a simple windstorm unhinge his nerves. Though this wasn't any normal windstorm he'd witnessed...

Bewildered screams, though muffled by the wind, were curiously audible in the head's ears. He swirled around quickly to see the twins Cymbeline and Desdemona braving the battering wind to make their own ways to him. "Javaman!" Des shouted while her sister kept silent afterwards, trying to straighten her flapping cloak in the chaotic airs. "Do you know what's going on?"

"If I would, I'd have announced it to everyone!" Javaman replied back as loud, "What are you two doing here, anyway?"

"We wanted to check on you!" said Desdemona; Cymbeline nudged her.

".. And wondering if you knew what was going on," she added, "though, it's least likely anyone would know that..."

"Except for whoever's behind this," came a voice from an unknown origin...

----

Hours earlier, a vanguard and a valkyrie stood side by side in a forest that was, somehow, devoid of some kind of comforting properties as most forests were. It's not that it was particularly dead or devoid of life; in fact, it was like most other woods in the area. It was just when you entered the depths of it; the vacuous properties sucked up whatever security you had inside of you, and whatever was left was Empty Space.

Empty Space was hard to describe. It was like trying to find something in a hollow cave, a shell. Like something was missing, but you just knew it was there a few hours, seconds, minutes ago. Maybe days would pass, months, years, and it could be there again. Albeit, sometimes it never returns and you find something new. You find something new to fill the Empty Space, a different recourse.

Occasionally, however, you forget about it- you forget about that room and the door would stay shut tight forever. It wouldn't hurt or help you ever again- it would just be There. It would be There, you just wouldn't know about it. It was most likely better that way... a wise man once did say 'ignorance is bliss', after all. It isn't always, but sometimes it was better not to know things or to simply forget about the motivation, the part of you that died when you realized it for that brief moment and was overwhelmed with something new, a phoenix rising from the ashes once again to fly into a fiery new life...

The vanguard was unaffected by the Empty Forest. He had no explanation for it, just that what was There always stayed There no matter where he looked or did or traveled to. The valkyrie wasn't as immune, however she still had enough defense against it to keep her from falling into the vortex of unknowing anything as long as you lived. Her mental state wasn't perturbed by the Vacuous Effect. Neither was her horse; its mind wasn't as complex.

"Raven," she muttered in a quiet, yet confirmed voice, "I know what you're doing is what you believe in."

"Indeed it is, Fox." The man standing beside the troubadour shifted position slightly.

"You will return to me, correct? It is all that I wish for." The woman's look at this particular moment of time was that of concern and of a type of desire.

"Of course, my love. I promise you this. And I have never..." the man paused to add a reassuring smirk in the middle of his sentence, "... broken any a promise to you, am I correct?"

Many a folk believed 'never say never', but Raven's 'never' was always very much sincere. Fox released a sigh that sounded like it'd been held in for hours. "All right. I will trust you with this..."

----

The group of six, led by Chris, 'followed the leader' outside of the Casta palace to gaze their eyes upon the storm. Bizz ran into a wall several times before realizing where the rest of the group was, though she remained taciturn the whole rest of the way. Opal did the same.

"See this?" Chris had said, pointing up to the sky. There were no clouds, though for a gibbous moon it was really very bright. The wind did not cease to continue its frightful gusts.

"What? Is this another attack or something?" Lyle asked no one in particular; Nightmare seemed to be contemplating something.

"If so, to what end? I really see no point in it," He had replied. Bizz's oblivious gaze was turned to something at a ruined house, and Fim had been in the same kind of trance.

"You guys..." Fim suddenly began, however her voice trailed off as a group of three headed towards them, two girls and a very irritated-looking mage...

Out of the blue, it started to snow.

-//-

Chapter Six: Searching for Reason

I don't know where the snow comes from. What I do know is that its purpose is to bring silence. Snow itself is the personification of silence. Wherever the blanket of white is arrayed, it covers all sound, all color, into blank white. The world is coated in purity; all that is visible is white. It erases everything... a sign of forgetting all into a kind of blank comfort. There was nothing else to see, to think about, to hear... even the chill in the air seemed disrupted by the soft falling of flakes. It just wasn't as cold while the silence was falling. No, that was usually saved for later, the aftermath of a futile attempt at trying to eliminate things that would still be there once it all melted away... you soon realize that reality must be faced. It's a grim truth... but the truth nonetheless.

I wonder... you wonder... what happens after it is discovered... no?

----

"Sir, the entire area has been inspected."

"Hrm. Any sign if 'it', by any chance?"

"I'm afraid not, sir."

"Blast." A priest commanding an invasion on a small town known as Taken grimaced slightly in disappointment. A dog rushing frantically away from the chaos was kicked by said priest; the small animal was sent whimpering and scurrying even faster. "What of the town's militia? Have you eradicated them all?" There was a very faint light approaching its way into the horizon- unseen by the general poplice due to the clouds concealing all that came to be.

"All but apparently one, sir. There's a lone archer attempting to scale the hill."

"Well, you're a ballista rider, aren't you? How many bolts do you have left?"

".. One, sir."

"That should be enough, then." The commander strode off with not another word. His soldier sighed and returned to his large, mounted weapon; he loaded the last bolt with considerable difficulty, then aimed the ballista at the boy bravely fighting his way through the freezing, slicing winds which invited gradually condensing flakes into a party of catastrophe. The silence was falling.

"Heh... hah... no hard feelings, right?" Muttered the soldier to himself as he prepared to fire his last ammo, a tinge of remorse glinting in his eye, "After all, you'll be with the rest of 'em..."

Click.

----

Lyle blinked. "Wait, how is it..." his sentence cut off as he took a quick glimpse at the sky, and noticed it was the ash-colored, cloudy night sky that upcoming blizzards brought. First there were no clouds, and then there were. The trio of Freohr, Masu, and Songbird caught up eventually; the three were left panting in a moment of pause before Masu pointed a finger at Lyle.

"You! I know you!" He shouted suddenly and rather breathily. Lyle raised a brow.

"Eh?" The trueblade replied, "I don't think--"

"Masu!" Bizz exclaimed exultantly, "And Songbird! I haven't seen you two in a long time!"

"Oh, Bizz, Opal, everyone! It's so great to see you all here after that incident outside of Serold..." Songbird sighed in some kind of relief. Freohr had been watching quietly in fascinated curiosity as Bizz, Songbird, and Fim all embraced in a warm group hug. Masu and Lyle continued their 'conversation'.

".. Anyway, so, you don't remember me?" Masu asked, "I mean, I didn't know you were still so dense!"

"... Masu?" Lyle guessed after sifting through the evidence in his mind, "Well, of course. You were always so quick to start an argument."

"Yeah, right! Like I was always the cause of your gloomy mood all the time!"

"... Hey, that's all behind me now!" The trueblade protested, "You know, you shouldn't speak to a noble in such..."

In the background, the quarrel between Masu and Lyle hadn't been audible. Chris tapped Nightmare's shoulder firmly; the man turned immediately with a response of "yes?" It was a remarkable quality he was so revered for, the ability to somehow be aware of all around him and the capability of such quick reflexes. He acted unlike someone who was blind. In fact, if you hadn't known that, it would be easy to be hoodwinked into believing he possessed extra eyes at the very back of his head.

The two engaged in a conversation for a brief moment. Afterwards, the second trueblade noble took his step into the middle of the ecstatic group, interrupting the fighting and the conversing and the shivering from the cold. Everyone looked up at Nightmare, who cleared his throat.

"I hate to intervene into this happy reunion and all, but we must head to the palace as soon as possible. Everyone, prepare for a long bout of traveling..."

----

If he had ever experienced death in his short span of life, it had been the moment when the ultimate silence descended upon the world of his mortal being. This was unlike snow, for instead of white, there was nothing. There couldn't have been black, for how could any color exist at all if there was nothing? He hadn't been frightened, he felt no regret, and the sensation of pain ultimately subsided. There was peace. It didn't last for long, however that very brief example of time his spirit was nowhere and everywhere all at once.

As suddenly and finally as it ended, it began again. He felt existence again. It was brief and faint, but the way he conceived it was the simple, concise proof that he was thinking about it. You didn't think when you were dead. Did you?

There had been sound, too. He didn't think so at first, but he could think again, so he could confirm that it really was, in actuality, a voice. Something was chiding him awake. It was a harmonious, melodic sound, a sound of rhapsody and sorrow all blended into one mélange indescribable in his comatose state... or even to anyone, for that matter. There was light. Something was blocking it, but the obstruction vanished when he opened his eyes to a blinding luminescence...

-//-

Chapter Seven: The Sides to a Square

"What are you doing here? Show yourself!" Javaman had shouted, drawing his thick blade quickly. The shadow above in the trees chuckled darkly; the wind was sharp again, and everything around them was immersed in shadows as a duel was about to commence...

"Javaman!" Desdemona shouted before everything else was, all of a sudden, nothing...

The next morning, Bizz awoke in a slight sweat. It was early; or, at least, she thought it was, since everyone else had still been in the quiet embrace of slumber. The clouds still darkened the sky. She didn't know this, though seemed to enjoy the peace and comfort of the tranquil darkness. She needed to think. The swordmaster knew this from the dream that accompanied her thoughts mere moments ago. She had wished deep in her heart that the fleeting dream hadn't been so short-lived as it was; she simply had not the wit to decipher the miniscule stint of time it had etched into her memory. Still exhausted, the young girl sighed, making barely an effort to rise out of the bed she had been staying in.

Time rolled by sluggishly, minute by minute. It was a snail, the mollusk slowly making its slimy trail through the bare dirt of the world. Everything seemed to be in a paradox of halted time- time couldn't stop, yet why did it seem like it had? A watched clock never moved, they said... it had all been paradoxical, too. Common thoughts, metaphors and otherwise intelligent statements were so impossible sometimes!

"You've been stirring a while in here," echoed a voice from what seemed to be the other side of the corridor. Bizz squealed quietly under the covers; she then pulled them off hesitantly and rose out of bed with a subtle yawn.

"Nightmare, I swear you have supersonic hearing or something," Bizz mumbled, her voice hoarse and raspy. It was as if she hadn't even used her vocal cords in the longest time.

"Seems we have quite a sore throat, too," replied the enigmatic trueblade in a lighthearted manner. He entered Bizz's temporary room almost silently. "I haven't had all that much sleep tonight, either. I almost envy Lyle... I swear the man sleeps like a rock."

"Hah... I wouldn't know, I haven't seen him sleep," Bizz replied groggily. She stretched tightly with another drowsy yawn; something tinged in her mind just then. "Hm.. by the way..."

"Yes? What is it?"

"I... had a dream last night," Bizz began, "I don't know what it meant. I only have a vague recollection of it... but I can't help but think it might mean something. Maybe I'm just crazy..."

"... Hm," Nightmare responded, his expression now solemn. He drifted carefully up to Bizz's sleeping place and sat down on the edge of the fancied cot. "Think you would mind telling me about it?"

"Actually, it's what I've wanted to talk to you about since I woke up..." Bizz paused for a minute to ponder and transform her dream into words, and possibly also for dramatic effect. After a few more minutes, she continued, "... Okay, so, there was this huge square. ... It was divided into four smaller squares, one to a corner. Holding them in place was a small triangle.. and the four little squares were all differently colored."

"What colors were they?" Nightmare asked.

"... I can only remember the colors of two... one was white, and the other was of a greenish tint. The triangle in the middle... I'm not sure if it had a definite color... except, something happened to it. It vanished. I don't know how, but it was just gone in an instant, and the squares then started to separate from each other. ... I think that's all I can recall..."

"... I see." There was a period of time that had the feel of a room of taciturn antisocials. If time had feel to it, then that had been an almost-definite description. Bizz blinked and had her head tilted to one side in curiosity and visible fatigue.

"Did I say something wrong?" She asked almost immediately after the time of feel was up.

"No, you're fine. .. Well, I'd better get everyone else up and ready," Nightmare decided, "You had better get changed up and prepared yourself. We're heading for Sirya today to investigate some evidently strange behavior."

"Ah.. so, Masu and the others are going too?"

Nightmare nodded. "They agreed on going with us... and there is strength in numbers, after all."

"I love that phrase..."

With a smile and a wave, Nightmare ambled calmly out of the room. Bizz concluded that watching that man walk had been one of the coolest things she had ever seen in her lifetime.

----

Discussion in the palace halls of Sirya were relevant.

They had said a spy informed them of the group's future trip through the kingdom's border, and among them stood the true princess of the smaller portion of Kishonan...

-//-

Chapter Eight: Two Sides to Every Story

”What… what am I, anyway? And how do you know all of this?

“The truth lies in the center of the square, beloved Idea of the Skies. It always does…”

“Yeah, I hear that all the time. The triangle is the answer. I… still don’t understand it completely, really. This whole story you’ve been telling me, I feel as if it’s in a whole other language and I’m far from fluent in it. Augh.”

“ You’ve matured since you last visited.”

“I… have?”

“Dear One, it is time for us to part. You need to find who you are… and confront the fact that things aren’t always what they seem.”

“Why do you keep saying that? What do you mean? Everything you say… is a puzzle! I’m not awake… I don’t even comprehend these… phrases I utter to you. These are words? I’m someone of the disguises? I like… role-playing? I’m a certain word? Everything is a question!”

“Everything is. Everything is anything.”

“Wait, no, the questions are still coming! Don’t cut me off—“

“Farewell, Levity. You’re no longer an idea… a mass of small thoughts… this is not you. You are now you, and also someone else…”

“—damn it!”

“Hey, you! Finally, you’re awake!” A cheerful, beautifulvoice rang out into the chilled air, “I was getting worried there for a minute… I thought maybe I’d been too slow!”

“You were quick enough,” The boy responded simply and quickly. Almost immediately afterwards, he breathed a groan and shifted his position on the makeshift bed he found himself conveniently rested in; he didn’t remember breathing to be this rigorous, nor did he expect himself to wake up. The excruciating pain caused him to have almost preferred his previous physical state of existence, albeit he dispelled that thought as fast as it had had crept into his mind. He figured he should’ve been grateful for his obvious second chance. His visual acuity had still been inaccurate, so he didn’t bother checking his surroundings; the light hadn’t really appealed to him at this moment.

“Oh, try not to move too much,” The woman replied, “You might aggravate your wounds.” After a few minutes of silence, she continued, “So… do you have a name?”

“Will,” A muffled voice faintly muttered.

“Will? Ah, so familiar… I’m Bianchi!” Something seemed to stir outside as her name sounded through the normally still air of the facility. Will had moved again, another soft moan accompanying it. “You’re lucky, you know.”

“Lucky for what?”

“What do you mean, ‘for what’? You almost died, silly! You should be thanking me!”

“Oh, right,” Will managed hoarsely, “thanks. Speaking… kind of hurts.” He had been telling the truth, after all; he hadn’t recalled speech being this painful, either. It had been like with every word he attempted, he was stabbed with a knife, and fifteen knives were enough for one day if he did say so himself. Well, he would have said it himself, albeit fifteen plus seven wasn’t fifteen and thus would’ve been a paradox; he wasn’t rather fond of paradoxes, either.

“Oh, ahh, of course!” Bianchi flustered a little before preparing to leave the room. “I’ll be letting you get more rest then, all right? I’ll be back in a bit, in case you need anything!”

”… Food…” Will’s restless mind had whispered before it fell into the never-relenting darkness once more.

“Opal, can I ask you something?” Bizz asked as the united group began their long travel forward to Sirya; a tiny prickling sensation had formed at the back of her mind and she had to know these things.

“Hm? What is it, Bizz?” Her friend had responded. The other girl seemed to sigh slightly.

“Since a little bit ago, I’ve had this… weird feeling.”

“How so, dear?” Opal’s hair had been flowing slightly in the wind. Bizz watched it with a rather whimsical tone of emotion; it distracted her to such an extremity that it resulted in a few moments of silence. Opal had her head cocked to one side, and her friend eventually shook her head free and continued.

“Well, uh, I don’t know. I feel like I’m here and that I’m also somewhere else.”

“When did this start happening?”

“Since a few hours ago… before we set out…”

“Hey, are you two all right?” Nightmare called out from the front; it took the duo of friends a few ticks to realize they had fallen drastically behind. Opal had replied with a “yes!” and the two promptly caught up as their path to the small kingdom had grown gradually shorter as their destination went from being around seven miles away to about three, though not without the occasional rests now and there and even an incident with a bear that strayed too far out of the forestland. Freohr had known how to handle animals then most anyone else, however, so that hadn’t in reality been a major threat.

Needless to say, Opal and Bizz’s conversation had been halted since then; it actually hadn’t continued until sometime after the arrival at Sirya, very far after a strange woman greeted the group right at the entrance and exclaimed with a wide grin that had almost been frightening, “Welcome back, Fimbulvetr Symble, true princess of Sirya!”

-//-

Chapter Nine: Unexpected Visitor

After a while, whatever it was didn’t quite understand where everything was or what had been existence for the longest time anything could remember. Some force- a strange little vibration in the back of the throat- caused a tiny sound to be uttered from behind what turned out to be more important later than anyone could imagine, albeit at the current time it had just been another place with a few people loitering around the nooks; shady people, yet people at that. No one had heard the tiny noise, so another one was made, and then another, which soon evolved into a full-fledged melody, except she hadn’t known why she was singing or how she was doing it. Nothing made sense. When something happened, it was everything when it came from the commanding person’s perspective; kind of like in war, for instance.

Something nearby had projected through the air in a matter of a quick second; it had missed her hair by inches as she was making her way up from the horribly cold ground, even though she hadn’t known how she knew it was cold except that it was also white and silky. She had been near to oblivious of the unknown projectile and instead had been picking up handfuls of the white stuff she suddenly knew was snow, and let it sift through her fingers and blow into the wind back into the bleak whiteness of uncertainty. Her eyes drifted everywhere. Never for a moment did she think another long projectile meant anything until she heard numerous footsteps around and about her, for she was too enthralled in the wonderful, gleaming snow until she was surrounded by the shady characters. They stared at her, and she had stared back with a rather confused and lost expression, and soon the stares had turned into suspicious glares. This girl didn’t know anything of fright, so she flicked her hair in an attempt to make her self-confidence seem more than it really was, or maybe to look more intelligent.

First, there was a priest. This girl had thought priests were holier than to be a shady person looming into the darkness of origins (even though she hadn’t remembered in the first place), so she tilted her head to the side in curious expression. He had stepped up slowly, and eyed the girl with a kind of fixed, scanning stare that had penetrated right through you into your very soul. She shuddered involuntarily.

“And who, by any chance, might you be? Snooping around in places where you don’t belong, eh?” Even his horribly interrogating voice was sinister, unlike her own which could make notes and melodies she hadn’t had prior knowledge of even being in her repertoire, yet they were so suddenly there. She wanted to sing more to keep her heart from beating so terribly fast, but when she had attempted, all she had managed was a pathetic squeak. All of that music, gone to waste just like that? It had to have a use for something; suddenly, she considered the concept of saving it for later. So, you didn’t always have to use things right away! Right?

“… Answer my question!” The priest snapped, interrupting the girl’s winding train of thought. She gasped slightly and stared back at him, blinking.

“.. Uh… Levity?” That was her name, though it sounded so... unusual when slathered upon her tongue. She yawned and rubbed the back of her face with her sleeve in response to her own voice; she couldn’t remember the last time she heard herself speak, if at all. Then, how could she sing? Her heart skipped a beat as she discovered the man in front of her had been giving her “the eye”, most likely suggesting she had been insane, albeit with no words. It was so interesting how many soundless words you could fit into a single gesture! Levity winced. “… What?”

“Levity?” The enigmatic man had retorted, “So… you honestly think you can get me to believe that your name is a word?”

“… Uh… well, isn’t it?” The girl asked in an obviously puzzled manner, scratching her head nervously.

“… I see. You’re a different one. Lost your memory, or are you trying to toy with me?”

“I… admit that I don’t think anyone in their right mind would want to toy with you, sir.”

The other soldiers behind the priest had taken a few steps back, including the snipers that obviously aimed at Levity before, bows lowered. The silence followed like the blankets of snow and the approaching evening that would bring with it the aftermath of unknown circumstances. To their surprise, their commander had started to laugh. Levity was somewhat taken aback, though she did sigh in obvious relief.

“Ha… I like you, girl. If you’re so lost in the middle of nowhere, come to our side. I’m rather short-handed at the moment… it could be worth your while.” A satisfied grin worked its way across the man’s face, making Levity shuffle her feet in the powdery snow. This was when she noticed she had been wearing boots. They were long boots, a deep leathery brown.

“Depends. What am I supposed to be doing, and what are you doing to be all hidden in a place like this?” She had still been looking down, either examining the rest of the new outfit she never thought she had, in attempt to avoid the man’s sinister face, or possibly both, all at the same time. It was fun to multitask!

The grin became an even more pleasured smirk. “Well, we happen to be… looking for something, and a certain little place has caught our eye… would you assist us?”

“… Depends… do I get to sing?” The measures were still there, after all, printed to her brain like a permanent tattoo.

“True… princess?” Most of the group had turned to Fimbulvetr to see her smile a kind of sheepish smile, and there had been a sudden air of smugness about her. The girl had walked forward to the Siryian woman who was obviously giddy with joy over the royal’s return. She turned to her friends gathered at the entrance to the holy capital of Sirya and bowed. “I should’ve told you all sooner,” she began, “except I had to keep it all in secrecy. I’m... a spy of sorts, you see. Sirya gets its information in many ways.”

“A spy?” Nightmare replied, stepping up with one hand to his side and the other hanging limp, “Sirya would use its own princess as a spy?”

“D-don’t say it like that!” Fim shouted, “I mean, it took a lot of convincing to have them let me even come this far! When they finally entrusted me to you for the yearly parade at Serold for once, I thought I’d be useful and have some fun as well…”

“So young…” Came a murmur from most likely Opal as Fim started to gesture towards the main gate of Ira, continuing before Nightmare could get a second word in.

“I’ll tell you the rest when we’re all escorted to the palace! I sent Raggy (Songbird commented on how cute the nickname was, and considered giving her own pegasus back home a similar alias) with a message to the main castle up ahead to prepare treats for you all and stuff.” Fimbulvetr was beaming at this point, both hands on her hips in pride. It was that young, innocent naivety that was truly bliss sometimes.

“So… you’ve been doing this kind of thing for a while, then?” Lyle had asked, a tone of curiosity in his voice. Opal had meanwhile gone to look for Bizz; something had made her wander about and sulk somewhere for one reason or another.

“Yeah! And Bizz is actually related… to me, too…” Fim’s voice had been trailing off a bit as she watched Opal chase Bizz down the long hallway. You could just hear the sweatdrops from the back of everyone’s heads. “… It’s the royalty relation… we’re sisters, and we love each other, of course, albeit she’s easily embarrassed by it, I suppose…”

“Meaning she always avoids the subject like this? It’s kind of stupid,” Masu had scoffed; Lyle gave him a death glare, and Songbird and Freohr both coughed in unison.

“So!” Songbird shouted elatedly in an attempt to change the subject, “How much do you know about the recent goings-on, then?” Even though they hadn’t physically been doing it, she and Freohr by their very presence itself seemed to be leaning forward in anticipation so far that they’d come close to snapping even the hard redwoodtree table of ages.

“Well… all right, brace yourselves!” Fim shouted ecstatically, eyes glimmering with delight, “Lyle, I know where you live!”

Cymbeline woke up.

That had in actuality been the best possible description for it; her world hadn’t been there, but then she opened her eyes and it suddenly was. She also still contained the recollection of memory inside of her head, playing back exactly like a reel of film. There had been a fight. Javaman and the dark apparition had been fighting; dueling, in fact. She remembered the ghastly scene where it all turned into a field of hallucinations, and then he had said, “Remember the four sides to the square”, and in an instant there was a kind of flash, and she and her sister has screamed…

She hid her head in her arms immediately after she had caught a glimpse of the strange field she’d inhabited now; the shaman was alone, and hadn’t a clue of where anyone else was. She still remembered the whispering of the shadow that she had assumed to be a man, a man of malign intentions, and her rather keen sense of hearing that picked up a name. They were searching for something, someone, most likely multiple people. She had reason to believe there had been more than one thing they were searching for, and a short anecdote- as if she’d rehearsed it almost flawlessly- made its way into a murmur from her lips:

“There was a man, world-renowned for his strength, orphaned and the true king of Kurai… though blind, he cut down a whole battalion that took a wrong step towards the wrong place…”

The dark-haired girl put a hand to her chest, wrapping her robes around her as she shivered; she had missed her sister and Javaman already. Working her way slowly up until she had finally been at a full stand, she looked to the horizon- the sun had already been setting its way to sleep as its colors were dulling from orange to red. When she squinted, she could make out a wax crescent moon that had been hiding all day, like the moon always had since the day the world was born. She took a deep breath, and recited the story again. Somehow, she had wanted to find this man. She wanted to tell him that something was coming.

-//-

Bizz cant get on TC from wherever she is so she PMed to me on SF and asked me to post it.

Chapter Ten: Shadows in the Wind

”We are in the correct position, yes?” The mercenary had asked the cleric down next to him; the two had been almost entangled in the nearly-bare brush, along with the smaller, frail girl that had still been hiding in the healer’s arms. It was almost dark now, seemingly the best time for the enigmatic triad to be working- priestess, mercenary, and strange, voiceless girl.

“… Yes.” The woman had said nothing else. The girl she had still been close to cradling was trembling violently. The mercenary took another disappointed look at her and sighed. The sigh, however, had been rather ambiguous in the core of its nature; it could have been in antipathy or merely in exhaustion, for it had seemed forever ago since he’d had a decent sleep.

“Well, at least you seem to understand the works of this better than me. I guess I’m just kind of in it for the pay.”

“Of course, typical mercenary behavior. It’s just fine with me.”

“How so?” Ninji had inferred curiously; he’d never received that type of response before. Cynthia merely shrugged.

“You’re a good fighter. You’re worth your pay. You don’t overcharge like most mercs nowadays, and you come in handy.” The blind cleric turned her head; a faint siren had been drifted to her senses. “… I think that’s our cue. Quick, run to inform the sniper squad- I have to remain here, just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“Just go!”

“Fine, fine!” In a strange sense of duty and somewhat irritation, Ninji swiftly sprinted his way through the dense thickets and straightaway to his assigned destination.




In the vast dinner room of the Siryan palace, Bizz, Opal and Masu drank tea as everyone else stared at Fim with eager exp​ressions on their faces; all except for Lyle, who simply looked flabbergasted.

“You know… where I live?” Lyle blinked in a puzzled exp​ression. “I… don’t see where you’re going with this.”

Fimbulvetr sighed and crossed her arms where she sat. “I think you very well know where I’m going with it, true prince of Niran.” Everyone in the room save Nightmare and Chris froze at this point to stare at Lyle. “Yeah, that’s right, I’m the best spy ever.” Fim’s gloating would drive even her wyvern crazy.

“How did… you find that out?” Lyle asked curiously with a tinge of confusion still poking at his brain. Bizz coughed hard- she knew everything.

“My sources never fail,” Fim explained. “I also know that Nightmare is the king of Kurai and Chris is actually the prince of Eroya, and his coronation is rather soon. We visited Serold as just lower rich nobles, but you and I were all really more than that.” The room experienced a painfully awkward silence, which was broken by a touch of whistling from Songbird.

“You know, the royal families of Kishonan are all really strange…” Freohr replied whimsically, “Everyone hides their identities while others are spies, and some relatives isolate each other, hence some of the parents… is that how they prepare their children to act on their own or something… ?”

“Well, actually…” Nightmare began, but was interrupted by a distant shout. Everything was dropped as a servant maid came running into the dining chamber, terrified out of her wits. More shouts were starting to ring through the giant building, creating a morbid musical of paranoia as more and more cries continued to chime into the ensemble.

“Everyone, quick!” The mistress was frantically ushering people through the dining chamber into another hallway, “You have to hide! We’re bein’ ambushed!”

Fim shot up. “Where’s mother? Is she underground?” The maid nodded quickly.

“Yea, the Queen should be safe. But, you must get away, now! There’s a whole lot of ‘em, an’ they’re floodin’ in quick!” The woman rushed through the group into the hallway she’d let the others escape into, making a gesture for the others to come as she disappeared down a flight of stairs.

Bizz picked up the smell in the air; throughout the terror and the accumulated mass of emotions, something caught her sense. It was dark and cold, and sent a wave of disturbance throughout the swordmaster instinct inside of her. All fighters of this class had to know what it was; it was crucial for their survival.

“Snipers,” Nightmare concluded before Bizz or Opal could even begin, “They’re the enemy of us. Their arrows aren’t cheap, either, nor are their skills.” He rubbed a hand down his face as if, for the first time anyone had ever seen, he had finally been cornered. He took a moment to ponder the options. “I think those of us capable should fight them back ourselves; running away would be pointless, for they would only eventually reach those hiding underground.” Bizz felt a grain of panic lodging itself in her throat. She couldn’t explain it; she wanted to run, but she wanted to stay.

“Uh, Nightmare…”

“Hm?” The trueblade responded quickly.

“Have you ever felt like you were here but also somewhere else and then--” Songbird’s screaming had overshadowed her voice as a man broke into the great room, followed by another and then two more. The sniper’s hostile gaze fixed onto the group, his eyes scanning amongst them as if choosing whom to kill first, which was obviously what one would assume.

“We’re under orders to search for four very special people,” The sniper said in a deep voice, “If our arrows can’t kill you, you’re coming with us. But if they can…” He clicked his tongue as the men behind him readied their bows and drew arrows from their quivers, “then I guess you’re just unlucky.”

“Four sides…” Bizz muttered under her breath as Freohr, Fim, and Songbird began to flee into the backway; Songbird grabbed Bizz by the wrist and dragged her down forcefully with the others, whilst Fim had done the same to Opal. “Wh-what are you doing?!” Bizz asked in a demanding tone.

“Nightmare says we have to go. We have to make sure everyone downstairs is safe. And…” Songbird didn’t finish her sentence; Bizz somehow already had a vague idea of what she had been planning to say, and looked down as the group of girls raced into the underground.




“Mother… uh… I’m home.”

“Oh… oh, my Stars! My little Erish, it’s been three years!”

“Indeed it has.”

“Ahh, Erish… It’s rather unfortunate that we have to meet under this kind of circumstance…”

“Well, actually, it’s Bizz now… I go by that name wherever I travel.”

“I see… Bizz? Aaah, the candlelight is so dim, I can barely see your face… but I can tell you’ve matured so much.”

“… Mother, what happened to Father? I would’ve asked sister Fim about it, but… I decided I would rather confront you about it.”

“… Haha… your father died a year after you left home. There was another assassination attempt…”

“W-wait, I heard about that! Nobody told me that the King died!”

“Well, we never exactly made it public. The common people… they always believe what the higher classes tell them, and question nothing. Oh, sure, there’s the occasional riot… but I think people are just afraid…”

“To know the truth, you mean?”

“Mm-hm.”

“… Mother, I missed you so much. I’m sorry that… I wasn’t here when Father was murdered.”

“Oh, my silly daughter… you should be grateful that you were gone at such a time. After all, there was nothing you could’ve done, and if you had been here, we might’ve lost more than just him.”

“Probably. …”

“… You’ve got that face. Some of your comrades are swordmasters, aren’t they?”

“And trueblades. One of the senses is going erratic. Excuse me, but I must tend to something.”

“You go teach them a lesson, my lovely Erish… I’ll be waiting!”




“I wonder if they’ll be all right…” Opal muttered to herself in the darkness of the emergency basement. She sighed and sat on the floor with her back against the hard wall, trembling slightly. She felt someone’s hand touch her shoulder and though she turned her head to face them, she still couldn’t see their face. “… Thanks.”

“No problem,” Freohr replied; the other girl recognized her voice. “Bizz is always saying swordmasters and their kin must stick together throughout anything…”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that about her…” Opal brought her knees to her chin. “She’s right about it, though. I mean, when you think about all of the pros and cons of the fighting style, the defense thing is definitely a problem… a sniper with good aim could definitely—“

“Noo, don’t talk about that now!” Songbird shrieked from another part of the room- the where had been a mystery. “Don’t forget about the others fighting up there! And… my brother… aaaah!”

“Oh, I’m sorry…” Opal apologized, “… Where’s Bizz, anyway?”

“She’s… talking with the Queen,” Freohr replied; suddenly a small candle flame approached and Freohr was shoved to the ground. “H-hey!”

“Excuse me, I’m sorry, oh damn, I have to get…” Bizz paused as another flame added more light to the once-consuming darkness.

“Bizz, what are you doing?!” Songbird exclaimed a little too loudly. Opal quickly slapped a hand over her mouth. “Mmm-ff!!!”

“I know when she gets this way… Bizz, did something happen above?” Not even the dim light could hide the exp​ression of ardent concern on Opal’s face as Bizz looked into it for one fleeting moment; she jerked away and muttered something incomprehensible. “What?” Opal leaned in closer to listen.

“I think… I… think…”




Lyle cursed loudly as his opponent drove the spear into his left shoulder; the pain caused him to kick the man hard in the gut as a burst of flames suddenly engulfed him and the lance forcibly drawn out of his body. His assailant howled loudly and crumpled to the ornate floor as he was gruesomely burned alive, his shrieking drowned out by large cracks of flame. Lyle’s vision fixated on Masu giving a kind of relieved sigh, albeit it hadn’t been long before the excruciating pain literally drove Lyle backwards into a wall. Nightmare had already sensed the disturbance in a quick speed and made his way just as fast; Chris and Masu held their own, despite Masu’s fire tome almost being worn to the core, as the injured trueblade sank down with his back against the wall, gripping his shoulder slightly. His sword lay idle a few feet away.

“Lyle, can you hear me?” Nightmare asked quietly, kneeling down to Lyle’s level, “You better not be dying on me.”

“Hah… I don’t think it’s that severe,” Lyle managed, his gaze down to his knees, “It just… hurts… badly, that’s…” His mind had trouble processing the words, and Nightmare shook his head slowly as he stood again.

“Damn it, we need to get you out of here,” He muttered more to himself than to the person he had intended to be speaking to, “I don’t think you’re in the condition to be fighting any longer.” His ears caught the sound of someone’s footsteps approaching up the echoed hallway of the flight of stairs, and, in a strange turn to their favor, he heard shouts of arriving attackers already dying at the source, the large doorway that’d already been decorated with blood and scattered bodies, bows, lances and broken arrows.

A flash of green sliced its way through another of the foes as a few of the ones still alive had already begun to retreat. The trueblade who emerged had indeed been clad in a dark, grassy-green color, and brown hair. He twirled his sword around once before sheathing it and set his eyes on the scene before him. “… Shit, am I late?”

“Just in time, actually,” Nightmare replied from the other side of the dining hall, “Can you help with this?” He gestured to Lyle, who now lay semi-conscious on the hard floor.

“Hahah, glad to help!” The man replied; he was none other than Toa Lord Sothe, and with his appearance, the giant palace had finally been shrouded in peace.

-//-


Thanks again! <3<3<3

Cool story bizz, TLS is like the greatest character in literature

I am awesome.

Cannot wait for chaptar 11.

HEY LOOK IT'S ME YAY

Remember, feedback makes me happy!



Chapter Eleven: A Distant Memory of Life and Death

”What is this… you say the attack failed?! What kind of fool do you take me for? There were only supposed to be weaklings in that palace! They don’t know war!”

“Well, sir… there were some… unexpected visitors.”

“… The nobles of Serold? Are you sure I’ve got that right?”

“Em… yes, commander.”

“But we’ve had not an inkling of a hint in our intelligence reports of their movements… what’re they scheming? How did they elude our spies?!”

“Well… I am unsure of those answers you seek at the moment, sir. However, we’ve set the emergency ‘parasite’ in place, and it seems all is not lost.”

“Hm? Are you saying we’ve finally made progress?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Mm… that’s an actual boost to my morale! Tell me what she knows.”

“Our ‘parasite’ believes we may have found one of them. And, there’s another interesting piece of information to go with that…”

- - -

Four days later, the vanguard Raven trekked his way through a mountainous trail to his assigned destination- two people were waiting for him there, he knew. He chuckled at the thought of his unexpected success; first there had been the near-victory more than year ago, in these same mountains he roamed now, the great landscapes of Kurai, where many died on the day of Late Spring. Raven traced his finger up from near his knee to his left hip; he shuddered to think of how painful that wound had been, and even still it offered some faint lisp of pain every once in a few moons. The man who dealt him his injury… he shrugged it off, not desiring to think about it at this point.

Javaman, Cymbeline, and Desdemona had all been spritzed to different sides of the continent. Raven had done this in order to avoid trouble; he wasn’t about to be entangled in the affairs of random citizens, not without orders. He did things in a more organized fashion, even if it took some sneaking around to do so.

The memory of last spring still made him chuckle. It’d all been just to catch spring itself as well, and though so many casualties occurred just to result in a complete failure, he felt no remorse if it’d been a direct order. This was just his way of thought; he never questioned it, even if others did.

It made him think a lot of Fox, whom he’d held so dearly to his heart in utter secrecy, especially when she would sometimes scold him for things he said or weak jokes he’d pulled simply because that’s just what she had done. He wondered what she might even be thinking right now- he knew she never approved of war or anything drastic of the sort, for she abhorred chaos and anything that caused any kind of strife. She held a quieter disposition, preferring wait on the side rather than jump into the fray, and that was exactly what Raven was fond of. Together, one balanced the other, and the two were complete.

The snows in this particular region became more harsh and impeding as the season of winter grew ever closer; though it was expected that such a mountainous path would always be ridden with frigid temperatures whenever and wherever, so nothing else really mattered anyhow you looked at it. Raven glanced up at an ominous-looking cave peering at him from a sharp cliff. Just a little more climbing he had to do, he figured, but what could’ve been so important as to call him at such a strange time? He could only hope that it was for any kind of positive news, for the whole search as of late had seemed nothing more than a wild and tedious goose chase.

Upon arriving at the assigned convening place (which only took forever in Raven’s opinion), the red-haired vanguard was first greeted by the priest commander Chester and another powerful-looking man whom he hadn’t exactly been familiar with, and he could make out a few of the others waiting deeper into the mountain crevice. Raven smirked. “So,” He began, “What did you need us for?”

- - -

Nightmare had seemed to be pacing the ornate halls forever with no end in sight. It had finally been time for them to get moving again; the past four days had been a slow recovery from the trauma four nights before, especially for Lyle. The trueblade recalled Bizz never leaving his side, as if under some sort of trance; never leaving as he remained resting in the small underground room as a priestess had been tending to his wounds. He placed a hand up to his chin as he thought: what could it be? Was there something in her soul that had this natural sort of reaction, or had it been…

The blind man’s senses indicated the presence of the very person trailing his mind at that very moment; the girl had been slowly drifting from the small infirmary after what seemed to be such a long time…

“Bizz.” Nightmare’s voice was firm and solemn. Bizz gasped slightly and turned.

“Oh, hi. I didn’t see you there!” Nightmare could feel the smile Bizz had given him after her response. It gave him an uneasy feeling, for he knew she had one too.

“Listen, I… need to ask you a few things.” He felt the young swordmaster tense- she never did like serious interrogations like this, let alone anything serious at all. This was going to be tough.

“What is it?” Bizz’s eyes widened a little, possibly from the rather sobering tenseness that seemed to permeate throughout the place.

“… Do you… remember anything?”

“Remember… anything?” What was this? It sounded so unusual; Bizz had never been asked anything like this before, save for maybe two months ago… “I-I don’t know what you’re—“

“Forget it,” Nightmare interrupted suddenly, “forget I said anything. Don’t worry about it.” Bizz caught the fleeting sight of him pressing his hand up against his forehead as he paced away out of the hall; she stood there, dumbfounded and slightly shaken, with her mind ticking away at so many unanswered questions…

“Hey, Bizz!” As if on cue, Toa Lord Sothe came dashing from the opposite hall with a rather positive disposition about him; he approached Bizz curiously, a concerned look on his face. “Hey, did Night say something bad to you or something?” When she continued to stare off into empty space, he tilted his head. “Damn, it must’ve been serious…”

Bizz’s gaze went to the floor. As suddenly as Sothe’s surprise entrance, she shook her head and sprinted down the other hall after Nightmare, leaving TLS with some unanswered questions of his own.

Do you recall anything from last spring… ?

- - -


“Soo, Will!” Bianchi’s voice ringed, “You’ve been making an excellent recovery these past few days! How do you feel?” Will hadn’t desired to admit how comfortable it was to be in the presence of the strange healer’s smile; he didn’t hold emotions in high regard, and he didn’t feel his were all that important anyway. He sighed quietly and stretched himself a little- there had still been a sharp pain when he did so, albeit minor. It didn’t bother him too much; the stretching felt considerably great after not leaving his bed for… how long had it been? He couldn’t even remember being able to study this room in its entirety, either. It’d been rather small and cozy, full of shelves aligning the walls. Some of the items set upon these shelves ranged from odd-looking herbs to old candles that may have been used years ago; the melted gobs of wax looked almost like extract sculptures. The little house contained another, bigger room; all he could see in it from where he had been was a glowing fireplace.

“You know,” Bianchi continued, her tone with the very slightest of seriousness in it, “you’ve never gotten to share your story with me despite the time we’ve been together…”

“It’s not like I’ve had a chance to,” Will replied blankly. He had still been facing the wall opposite from where Bianchi was standing, much to her slight dismay. “And besides, there isn’t much about my own ‘life story’ to even mention.” This seemed to upset the woman ever-so-slightly.

“What do you mean by that? Every life is significant, you know! Come on, tell me,” Bianchi insisted. Will sighed.

“Well, I was a member of my town’s militia, lived with an interesting family, and nothing really exciting happened until the day you saved me. That’s about it.” He tried not to make the last part sound as if it had a different meaning.

“Oh, come on, there has to be more detail than just that!”

“I’m afraid not.” Bianchi frowned.

“All right. Well, now that you’ve finally regained full consciousness, what would you like to do?” Will noticed the strange and rapid changes in Bianchi’s attitude, and though they were interesting, they creeped him out too, if only a little.

“I’m unsure. I’m really still kind of tired, but…” His sentence had been cut short as Bianchi suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him- though, unusually enough, not too hard- out of his bed. It hurt. “H-hey.. !”

“Come on, Will! It’s time for an adventure now!” Her emotions had been so erratic, Will didn’t even try resisting her at this point; so, though it caused him much physical pain, he let himself be dragged from the shoulder to the outside world he hadn’t seen for quite a while…

- - -

The town gates were not too far now. Cymbeline couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this excited to finally be seeing civilization again. The shaman had been so, so hungry; there hadn’t been much to find in this barren land after winter had begun to take its toll. It had been cold, too, obviously; the frosty mornings ripped through her thin robes that offered little support through the frigid temperatures. Why had winter been coming so fast? Autumn had seemed to pass by so quickly, the lovely, colored leaves already disappearing from the scenic landscapes. It snowed a few times, and the ashen clouds hovering above her head could have signified more of the precipitation coming on its way.

The girl slowly and almost dismally drifted through into the small village where hope seemed to have rested it. There were citizens in its vicinity happily gossiping along despite the weather, and small children had been glancing at Cymbeline with curious looks on their faces. Cym politely waved back. The atmosphere of this place had seemed so different. Trees surrounded most of the area with their protection from the elements, and the houses of the community seemed to be closely-knitted together. From a very far distance, a great mountainous landscape could be visible; this town seemed to be located on some sort of hill.

A slightly older man taller than the shaman herself approached her with a rather kind aura surrounding him. “Hello, traveler. I presume you are new?” He held out his hand. She politely took his hand and shook it.

“Yes, you are correct. I come from a land far from here,” She replied, honestly unsure of what else to say.

“I see. Hasn’t the cold been battering you?” The man asked, a strange tinge of a suspicious tone is his voice. Cymbeline didn’t understand. Where exactly am I right now… ? She thought. A horrible realization washed over her: she really didn’t know. The worst part seemed to be the fact that this unusual gentleman had been studying the dark-colored robes she had worn.

“Oh, it’s… fine,” Cymbeline’s voice broke a little, sounding suddenly awkward.

“Are you okay?” The man frowned suddenly. “Where exactly are you from, anyway?”

Wishing to avoid any possibly discrimination yet at the same time wanting to evade any more possible suspicions she would receive if she hadn’t replied, she made a daring move.

“… Eroya. I travel from Eroya.”

Everything around her seemed to change. Some people gave her odd looks. Another man coming by paused his activities and had been listening to the conversation intently in the background. She herself didn’t notice this; her attention was fixed on the man in front of her, his disposition undergoing an abrupt change.

“Eroya? What’re you doing here in Kurai?” Cym couldn’t tell if his features were hostile to her or simply innocuous and her paranoia had been getting the best of her.

“I, uh.. am sort of lost, I suppose.”

“Lost… lost,” The man mimicked cruelly, “you think I’m going to buy that? Everything is lost with you Eroyans! Your religions, the way you live… you misunderstand what the world has for you!”

“Er… I’m sorry, sir…” The shaman backed away little by little. She heard the younger citizens whispering amongst themselves nervously. The man in the background was making an unseen decision as he ambled slowly toward the conflict.

“Well, whatever you’re doing, just be on your way soon,” The outraged man scoffed, turning around and making his way up to a larger building located toward the center of the small community. Cym opened her mouth to speak and even held her hand up when she felt a tug at her back robe and then her left shoulder, and she had been pulled to a group of trees away from the commotion. She twisted her body around and prepared herself for a possible attack. Her hand instinctively reached for the tome at her side. Whoever had assaulted her began to chuckle in amusement.

“Hey, it’s all right. I mean no harm to you.”

Cymbeline turned and finally saw his face. He had been the man from behind the scenes of the incident. His hair was jet-black, his eyes firm, his expression vaguely irritated. She sighed in relief, then took another slight defensive stance. “Wait, who are you? Why did you drag me here?”

“Hey, calm down! I’m Branded. I just wanted to talk to you, that’s all. Sheesh.”

“… Why?”

“Because I’m Eroyan, just like you. I lied that I hailed from the neighboring ally of Niran to keep from the discrimination. There’ve been a lot of skirmishes around here lately, you know. It seems there’s been some plotting behind the king’s back here… The citizens here are ignorant to the matter, and it seems their king is in actuality a pretty highly respected person. He’s currently off investigating something that apparently happened in Sirya, or something. It’s a little chaotic, I know.”

“Chaotic…” Cym repeated. She pondered for a minute. “Wait! The weather! Hasn’t it been… a little out of the ordinary for you lately?” Oh, please don’t let me be the only one who’s noticed, the girl thought.

“… Actually, yes.” Branded seemed to be caught by surprise. Cymbeline became ecstatic- he understood. “You know… you’re interesting. Care to give me your name?”

“Cymbeline.”

“Cymbeline… I like that name.”

“Thanks.”

There was a pause.

“… So,” Cym continuing, attempting to revive the dying conversation, “I’m.. kind of looking for someone. Care to, well, help me look?” I don’t really have anyone else to turn to, she wanted to add. She kept it to herself.

“What a funny coincidence,” The vanguard responded, “I happen to searching for a few friends of mine, too. Are you saying you’d care to join me?”

“Please.”

“All right then,” Branded announced, “Let’s get out of this hole.” The two snuck through a thicket of trees and were very soon out of sight.

“… From last spring… ?

-//-

Okay I'm going to try to read all of it

*deep breaths*

GRRRRRRRAUGGH

Okay I managed to read the first few paragraphs
All right so far

Gotta take a break though, my focus is not good

I fully intend to read this sucker

Damn, I can't wait for more.

What happaned last spring......

Omg look chapter twelve

Shit yeah

______


Chapter Twelve: The Wind’s Revealing Realization

Toa Lord Sothe stepped out into the cold atmosphere of the blustering wintery day, the day they could finally set out once again. Rumors were starting to brew of the possibility of a war- but where, and who was posing the threat? What reason could there be for any sort of conflict at this point? Some were blaming the battle the weather seemed to be fighting in itself; the sky was getting darker and darker, and it brought things like panic and accusation. Fingers pointed at Sirya, and others at the ever-suspicious Kiran. There were even ideas of a conspiracy started in another continent, separated from Eroya by miles of sea, albeit that theory wouldn’t have made any sense, either. With a continent like Eroya, who barely had any other contact with others in an attempt to preserve its neutrality?

TLS sighed and looked behind him. The others were still in the palace, bidding their farewells. Bizz and Fim were probably bonding with their mother one last time before they had to leave; it must’ve been nice to know or even remember anything about your parents. TLS couldn’t really remember anything about his family. It never really bothered him much, it was just one of those things he couldn’t help pondering over every once in a while.

The more important thing, however, was that something about this day made him uneasy. His muscles were a little more tense than usual, his senses a little more keen. A sour feeling had rested deep in his gut, along with the recollection of the incident the day before.

“Do you remember anything…”

He almost felt like he knew what Nightmare was talking about. The trueblade shuffled his feet in the snow and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, watching his steamed breaths puff out into the frozen air. Sometimes he wished he was off with his old friend Gatrie, getting drunk like the days before. Of, course, he never said it out loud
--
“How much further now?” Songbird asked curiously; it had been another four days of hide in, travel out, trekking through forest after forest, and the weather really had not been changing much. She also noticed that, if you really squinted your eyes, there was a strange air between Bizz and Nightmare since the day they set out, albeit she didn’t say anything about her observation.

“The border of Kurai could be another few days or so,” Nightmare replied in an almost hollow tone, as if he’d been contemplating something the whole trip.

And TLS knew something was wrong, too, as if he could tell just by the direction of the storm. The snow and the winds tried to push them back, as if something bad really were in store for them and it just wanted to guide them away from the oncoming danger. He sighed and turned to see Lyle’s considerable trouble in traveling through the blizzard; he assumed his wound still ailed him slightly, especially since it seemed he didn’t have very much time to rest. Bizz was the only one attempting to help him walk, and Nightmare continued on as if unfazed by the cold. Everyone else seemed to fare in different ways, and TLS wanted badly to sit down at least for just a minute.



“Found you… I’ve finally found them…”



Suddenly Nightmare halted, causing the rest of the group to stop moving as well. “… Be on your guard,” he said quickly with a sudden, unshakable calmness, “because something is… here.” Not now, he thought. It couldn’t be now, at the worst possible time. He hesitated to move another inch. What he couldn’t see was what he could actually see. “I think… that I can safely say… that we’re surrounded.”

First there was a laugh, and then another; inside from the cover of the forest came soldiers armed with swords, lances, crossbows, clad in blue; a red-haired vanguard stood in front of them, as their peerless leader. A strange girl stood behind him with a staff- to Bizz, she looked almost familiar, but she couldn’t tell why. Her presence made her have the strange feeling again, the feeling of being in two places at once. The commander chuckled a little more as he stepped forward to speak.

“Honestly, I can’t believe it took this long to set everything up. I suppose you all still don’t realize what’s happened, which is all right with me; I don’t want to have to cause too much of a fuss. Trust me, I’m not really a fan of that.” He took another step inward, but Nightmare proved to be faster and blocked her from moving any further.

“What… are you doing here?” His voice was a low whisper, a hiss full of poison, a threatening zephyr of wind. The other man seemed to show a sign of hesitation.

“Oh, you remember me,” he uttered back with a satisfied smirk. “I’m better now, I think. What about you?”

The tension was high, ready to break at any moment; Freohr gulped nervously and turned to Songbird. “What.. are they doing?” She asked quietly, “And what’s going on?” Songbird merely shook her head in a dumbfounded manner, and Chris sighed a few feet away.

“Meaningless questions when we’re about to be attacked,” he said, though was ignored; Bizz tried to move her head so as to see the vanguard behind Nightmare’s tall frame. The girl still stood behind him, looking almost whimsically oblivious to the current event. What was she? Her hair was a dark hazelnut color and it flowed down below her shoulders; she sported a long, elegant coat that seemed to match the way her hair submitted to the wind. The staff itself that she wielded looked expensive.

“Soldiers!” The vanguard suddenly shouted, “I order you to attack! Make of this what you will!” And soon, the field exploded into chaos, but not before Nightmare and the mysterious man locked themselves into battle.
--
“I didn’t think you’d come back here, Raven,” Nightmare said after another blow was exchanged, “I thought you were smart enough not to return. You’ve a love waiting for you out there, and you barely escaped with your life last time.”

“Oh, I changed,” Raven replied hotly, “And besides, I have a new goal now. I’m not after spring anymore- in fact, something marvelous happened, you know.”

Nightmare paused. “What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, you know I’m not allowed to tell- but I know something else, too… which makes my goal different this time.”

The two ceased their movements. A scream was heard as Songbird narrowly dodged a bolt of lightning in the background, and the girl who stayed behind Raven ran off to assist in healing magic.

“Different?” Nightmare asked; Bizz paused as she caught some of the conversation into her ears.

“It’s no use hiding the Spirit of Winter, Nightmare… we all know who it is now.”

Nightmare was still for a moment. Bizz’s eyes widened.

“The spring…”

Finally, he shrugged. “Captivity cannot touch the Spirit of Winter, Raven. So though you’ve found me out…”

The world was rendered nothing, and even the storm silenced its own ravaging. Bizz turned around slowly as her eyes caught Nightmare’s shadow breaking the law of time; it moved so fast that not even Raven’s mind could comprehend the change until it was too late.

“… death cannot touch me!”

- - -
“You wanna know what, Gatrie? I’m pissed off.”

“Yeah, I can see what you mean,” Gatrie responded, putting his elbow on the table with a melancholy sigh. “I miss my friend TLS from back in the day… I can’t remember where he went. I wonder… It’s weird, though. I mean, you wanna be pissed off because things around here just aren’t the same anymore, but after that you just kinda want to shrug it off and forget about it. I mean, change happens… Allen?”

The man on the other side of the table, Allen, took another sip of his drink and looked away. The bustle of the tavern seemed to increase as another day began to wane. More and more people came in to escape in a well-earned drink. Gatrie already had several, though it seemed he could hold his liquor better than Allen could, who already showed signs of slight inebriation, hence his mind along with the subject easily drifting away. “… Hahaha,” Gatrie laughed, “Drunk already?”

“Nah, I’ve had way more,” Allen replied, his voice only vaguely slurred. “I’ve only just started. Anyhow, what do you propose we do now?” He paused a moment. “Hey, where did your girlfriend go, anyway?”

“Oh, Candy? She went off shopping I think, since the market’s in town.”

“The market?”

“The market. With all of the rare goods and stuff you’ll never find in your lifetime. I guess you’re not from around here, but it’s kind of an annual thing that happens before winter. I told myself I’d probably take a good look at it tomorrow.” Gatrie finished the last sentence with another drink. “Yah, it’s pretty exciting. There’s this girl I used to see who’d buy her weight in exotic fruits, I swear.”

“Huh… exotic fruit? Damn, I’d love me some of that stuff.” Allen took another look around him, at the other tables with big men laughing heartily and gulping down their mugs in mere minutes. It was almost amusing.

“Anyway, you say you come from across the ocean, eh?” asked Gatrie, a fascinated look forming on his face. “What will you do now?”

“I dunno, really. Well, I’m looking for my sister, who ran off or something.” Already his topic swaying became more evident. “We’re just kind of traveling around. It’s supposed to be good for us, I guess.”

Gatrie stood up, pushing his chair outward. “Well, we won’t get anywhere just sitting here, eh? Let’s go check out that market I was talking about. Maybe we’ll run into Candy, too.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Allen stood up as well, and the two waved to the barkeep before taking their leave.

- - -

Desdemona walked outside as she breathed in the bitterly cold air, closing the door behind her. The wind was chilling, albeit she could stand it. It didn’t seem as bad today as it was a few days before, which was nice.

Somehow, she had ended up right back where she started- at her house. The village of Serold had never been so unfamiliar as it was now; her sister not at her side, Cymbeline not being there as she always had been, made everything seem so lonely, so desolate, so cold. But it didn’t matter. She just knew from the way things were going that it wouldn’t be long before they found each other again, and before something big and chaotic would erupt. In a morbid way, it was almost a little exciting if you thought hard enough- ‘Kurai and Niran engulfed in war!’ and nothing would be boring ever again. But what would war mean for the rest of the continent, and why was it happening now?

Desdemona looked up to the sky, the stars just now becoming visible. They’ll show me the way, she thought without a doubt. She knew the stars more than anyone else could ever claim they did. They spoke to her through their light and their guidance; her soul itself connected with their spirits. And with confidence, she took her first steps into the adventure of a lifetime, into the path of the stars themselves.

- - -

“Soon, soon, without a doubt, the control of the Four Spirits will soon be mine.” A book was smacked shut with a loud, abrupt sound, and a tall shadow found itself looking into the window of every opportunity known to man. The shadow grinned- if shadows can even grin- at the battle that was about to brew. “With the lengthy absence of Kurai’s king, rumors could be spread that he abandoned his kingdom.”

“And this happens while the king along with the rest that posed a possible threat could all be eliminated at once,” The mysterious priest continued, laughing to himself in satisfaction.

“Don’t forget the Seasons we’ll already have in our grasp,” The shadow reminded, and then continued to be enthralled by the world’s own deathly silence.

- - -

And neither did the light nor the dark of the stars could anticipate what happened next.

Twas' epic and Nightmare did stuff and I had lines.

Keep it up, it's really gettin' interesting now.

Freohr Datia wrote:Yayz finisheded it. =)

And yayz it continues!!! =D Nice job!

It's getting interesting now?!? Silly TLS xD

Allow me to correct myself "REALLY GOD DAMN INTERESTING NOW."